I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supporting side for a hose-winding drum for a device for winding flexible hose.
II. Related Art and Other Considerations
Devices are known for winding flexible hose wherein a rotating drum destined to receive the flexible hose is supported by a tubular metal structure formed by a base part (possibly provided with wheels) and by a top part (acting as a gripping and operating element).
The two tubular structure parts are substantially conformed in a U-shape and have suitably located bends. The two tubular structure parts are joined together and to the rotation pivot of the hose-winding drum at a pair of couplings, generally of plastic material, located at the two sides of the drum. Each of such couplings receives one end of each of the two parts of tubular structure and, perpendicularly, the drum's rotation hub, thus defining a single structure for supporting the drum.
Couplings for supporting the hub in plastic material are currently known. Such couplings have been formed by two equal side-by-side elements, each having a closed hole seat (for receiving the end of a respective part of the tubular structure) and an open perpendicular half-seat co-operating with the corresponding half-seat of the other element (for receiving the drum's rotation hub).
Couplings for supporting the hub are also constituted by a single element with an elongated shape. The element has ends respective aligned closed hole seats for receiving the respective ends of parts of a supporting tubular structure that can be connected together and through which a perpendicular hole is drilled for receiving a rotation hub.
These latter couplings are of extremely simple construction. They may be assembled easily and quickly for connecting together tubular structures and the support of a rotation hub, such as that of the rotating drum of a hose-winding cart.
The aforementioned couplings do, however, require the handle element, in addition to the bends necessary for forming the U, to also have a pair of bends such as to allow it (1) to be inserted in the coupling in a direction substantially perpendicular to the ground, and then (2) to extend transversally to it and either upward or downward with an optimum inclination so as to allow an easy pushing or grasping action of the hose-winding device and its stable positioning on the ground, respectively.
An object of the present invention is to provide a supporting side for a hose-winding drum for a device for winding flexible hose. The supporting side of the present invention executes the same function as the aforementioned couplings and is shaped so as to receive (on one side) a tubular base element and (on the other side) a tubular handle element, both in the shape of a U but with no other additional bends.
Another object is to provide a side with the minimum use of material and thus extremely light, but all the same suitable for resisting the various deflection and torsion forces.